Tripuraneni Hanuman Chowdary religions teachings

1. It is very amusing and of course even comforting to listen to talks by speakers and read the articles by writers almost authoritatively pronouncing that all religions teach the same thing. This view is absolutely far from the real truth. Christianity asserts that all people are born in sin and unless they embrace Christianity and are baptised and go to the church, they will be consigned to hell on the day of reckoning when Jesus Christ will come back and revive the good Christians. No Hindu sastra or any Pantha of the Hindu agrees with this. On the other hand, Hindus hold that we are the children of deathlessness, amritasyaputraah, aham Brahmasmi, tat tvam asi. I myself am Brahman and you too are Brahman. We are not born as sinners.

2. Islam holds that it and it alone is the true religion and that Mohammed was its final prophet and the Quran is revealed by God himself. Unless one believes in all these he cannot be a Muslim. Hindus do not agree with this. They believe that whenever there is decline of Dharma and Adharma is on the ascendant, God incarnates in the human form to put an end to the evil, the Adharma, and to reestablish Dharma. There is therefore no finality of a Prophet.

3. Both Christianity and Islam each claim that it and it alone is true and that its followers are enjoined to convert the rest to its own faith. Hinduism does not believe in conversions nor does it assert that it alone is true and others are false.

4. Islam prohibits the worship of images/statues. In Christianity, only the images of Mary and Jesus are venerated, not any others. Hindus do not believe that images and statues and photographs of Gods and Goddesses are Gods themselves. They believe that every human being may worship God in the form he conceives and understands, and by the name which is dear to him. The images and statues are only aids for one to contemplate the divine. Hindus believe that whosoever is born, in whatever religion of his parents, may continue to practise it and so there should be no conversions. But Christianity and Islam hold that non-believers are in sin and that they ought to be converted; they are missioned and ordained by their God to convert others.

5. Hindus believe in rebirth. They believe that by doing meritorious and good deeds, one goes on taking rebirth in higher and higher forms of life, finally merging with the divine itself - kaivalya. Christians and Muslims scoff at this believe of Hindus. Hindus hold that everything in nature is a manifestation of the divine, therefore it should not be ravaged, but that it should be revered. Christians and Muslims hold that God has given other animals and plants for the enjoyment of man. Killing and eating animals and birds is not undesirable, it is a God-given gift according to Muslims and Christians. Hindus hold that taking out life is violence and ungodly and should be least indulged, only as a necessity if at all, not for the delectation of the pallet.

6. In practice, those wielding power in the name of Christianity and Islam had invaded other countries, conquered other peoples and converted them, as demanded by their faith. Hindus never invaded any other country in order to convert other people to their faiths, as conversion by them as a religious duty is not enjoined. Conversion has always involved violence, allurement, fraud, false hopes. How can then we say that all religions teach the same?

7. Among the Hindu people, there are several pathways or panths to live their believe and faith. Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Madhvas, Swamy Narayana, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Advaitis, Visishta Advaitis, Dwaitis are different Panths. They did not resort to mutual elimination. Each one is tolerant of the others. No Hindu king has ever declared his faith or Panth as that of the State, and practised discrimination against others. On the other hand, in Islam, there is no distinction between religion and rulership. That is why there are any number of Islamic states. Christianity also was for very long the religion of some states. But with the reformation after the middles ages, the concept of secularism came and hence the separation of State and religion.

8. Tolerance is another over-used word. "You are dirty, your belief is false, your Gods are false. Yet, I will tolerate". Is this valuable? It is condesension. It could be true to be broken when one is sure of his strength to subdue the other. This is not acceptable. If the aggression of one religion against the other is to be stopeed, there must be equal and reciprocal repect of one's religion for the others. The principle of reciprocity is not ignoble; on the other hand, it is civilized conduct. It is for this that the Nobel Laureate Sir Vidyadhar Naipaul said, "Muslims need not expect more tolerance than what they themsleves show to others".

9. It would therefore be seen that when some people say that all religions teach the same, they are projecting their own view, and not clearly stating the view of either Muslims or Christians. The latter are absolutely clear that Hinduism is false and all Hindus are living in sin, and as non-believers, they must be converted to Christianity according to the Christian missions and to Islam according to the faithful Muslims.

Do all religions teach the same thing?